Articles

  Registered designs exist to protect the aesthetic appearance of products, and as such European Community design law was drafted so as to exclude protection for certain aspects of appearance that would allow for monopolies to be created around purely functional designs. Recent decision T-515/19 by the General Court considered...

  The electric vehicle (EV) market is rapidly picking up pace. According to data from the RAC, nearly 40% of all new cars sold in 2021 in the UK have been hybrids or fully electric¹. This is up from under 10% in 2019. It is clear that electric vehicles are...

  Opposition proceedings at the EPO provide a time-limited opportunity for a third party to challenge the validity of a granted European patent centrally, with the aim of achieving revocation, or at least a limitation, of the granted patent rights. In this article, we will give an overview of the...

  This article was originally published by New Designers. Follow this link to read the full article. There’s a lot to think about when launching a new product – co-ordinating manufacturers, finding stockists and of course marketing. Intellectual property is, perhaps understandably, not front of mind at such a time....

  As those familiar with the patent process will know, a European patent is obtained via the European Patent Office (EPO). In order to get a European patent granted, it has to meet a series of requirements set by the European Patent Convention (EPC). At least in some respects, the...